Father Konstantin

(1787 - 1855)

Born on May 18 (29 NS) in Vologda in the high-born noble family. Children passed in a family estate - the village of Danilovskoye Tver province. Home education led grandfather, Marshal of the Nobility Ustyuzhna County.

With ten years Batiushkov studied in St. Petersburg in foreign private pensions, owned by many foreign languages.

In 1802 he lived in St. Petersburg in the house of a relative M. Murav'eva, writer and educator, played a decisive role in shaping the personality and talent of the poet. He studied philosophy and literature of the French Enlightenment, ancient poetry and literature of the Italian Renaissance. Within five years, serves as a clerk in the Ministry of Education.

In 1805 his debut in print satirical poem "Letter to my poems". During this period, writes poetry mostly satiric genre ( "Epistle to the Chloe," "To Phyllis, epigrams).

In 1807, recorded in the militia and as the hundredth militia battalion chief sent to the Prussian campaign. In the battle of Heilsberg was seriously wounded, but remained in the army and in 1808 - 09 participated in the war with Sweden. Upon his retirement, to devote himself to literary creativity.

Satire Vision on the banks of Lethe, "written in the summer of 1809, marks the beginning of the mature phase of creativity Batjushkov, but was published only in 1841.

In 1810 - 12 is actively cooperating in the magazine "Herald of Europe, is moving closer to Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Viazemsky and other writers. Appear his poem "Jolly Time", "Lucky", "Source", "My Penates etc..

During the War of 1812 Batiushkov, due to illness not gone into the army, suffered the "horrors of war, poverty, fires, famine," which later was reflected in the "Epistle to Dashkova" (1813). In 1813 - 14 participated in the overseas campaign of the Russian army against Napoleon. Impressions of the war formed the content of many poems: "The prisoner", "The fate of Odysseus," "Crossing the Rhine" and others.

In 1814 - 17 Batiushkov traveled a lot, rarely staying in one place for more than six months. Passing through a severe spiritual crisis: frustration in the ideas of educational philosophy. Are growing religious sentiment. His poetry is painted in sad and tragic tone: Elegy "Parting", "Shadow of a friend", "Awakening", "My genius," Tavrida "and others. In 1817 came a collection of "experiments in prose and verse", which included a translation, articles, essays and poems.

In 1819 he left for Italy at the place of the new service - he was an officer in neopolitanskoy mission. In 1821, he possessed an incurable mental illness (persecution). Treatment in the best European clinics have not been successful - Father did not return to normal life. His last years were spent with relatives in Vologda. He died of typhoid

July 7 (19 NS) 1855. Buried in the Savior Prilutski monastery.